'A symbol of Gaza itself' - Israeli flattens Al-Ghafri tower, tallest building in Gaza City

The Israeli army bombed Al-Ghafri tower in the port area west of Gaza City, after issuing evacuation warnings on Monday.

Footage captures the moment of the Israeli strike, followed by a dense plume of smoke rising above the scene. Residents can also be seen gathering around the rubble of the destroyed tower.

"The Israeli military warned us that the tower was a target and told one of our neighbours to relocate. He told everyone to evacuate and move away from the area, and then they bombed the tower. Now people have come back, and God willing, we will remain steadfast here," said resident Nael Abu Hasira.

"We will not leave. We would rather die here on our own land than be forced out. Here, we are all united as one family. Staying here preserves our dignity, our pride, and our strength," noted fellow displaced person Mahmoud Al-Batran.

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli army had issued evacuation warnings for the Gaza port area, the Al-Rimal neighborhood, and adjacent Palestinian displacement camps. It claimed that Hamas was using the tower as a 'for gathering intelligence and surveillance to monitor Israeli army positions'.

In a statement, Hamas condemned the attack as ‘a full-fledged crime of ethnic cleansing and genocide’ through ‘systematic bombing of residential areas, destruction of towers, and forced displacement of civilians’.

The 20-storey Al-Ghafri tower was the tallest building in Gaza City, housing hundreds of Palestinian families and media offices, production companies, and commercial enterprises, according to local media reports.

The strike occurred amid expanded Israeli ground operations in Gaza, part of the recently announced 'Operation Gideon's Chariots 2'.

Since September 5th, Israel has intensified its bombardment, targeting residential towers in Gaza City, hours after Defence Minister Yisrael Katz stated that it would 'open the gates of hell'.

This escalation follows the Israeli government’s approval on August 8th of a plan, proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for a full-scale invasion and occupation of Gaza City.

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